NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When Interstate Bakeries Corp. agreed to a product-placement deal with Sony Pictures to have its Wonder Bread brand incorporated into a Will Ferrell movie, it did so with a handshake and a prayer.
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Movie Gives Wonder Bread Exposure Worth $4.3 Million
No Money Exchanged in 'Talladega Nights' Product-Placement Deal With Sony Pictures
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The Wonder Bread logo appeared clear and in-focus for 11 minutes, 32 seconds during the film, which starred Will Ferrell.
Credit:
The Wonder Bread logo appeared clear and in-focus for 11 minutes, 32 seconds during the film, which starred Will Ferrell.
Bankrupt baker
No money was exchanged, and the company -- currently in
bankruptcy -- was hoping for some good exposure. It got that and
more on the opening weekend of Mr. Ferrell's Nascar comedy,
"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."
Not only did the film earn an estimated $47 million at the box
office, but sponsorship measurement firm Joyce Julius &
Associates, Ann Arbor, Mich., estimates that Wonder Bread received
$4.3 million in exposure.
Intense exposure
According to research conducted by Joyce Julius, which
specializes in measuring the impact of sponsorships and promotions
across all media, the Wonder Bread logo appeared clear and in-focus
for 11 minutes, 32 seconds during the film. The brand was also
mentioned by the actors on two occasions.
The opening-weekend exposure value for Wonder Bread was calculated
by comparing the estimated number of people who saw the film, along
with the on-screen time and mentions, to the cost of reaching the
same size audience through traditional advertising.
Main corporate sponsor
Wonder Bread is the main corporate sponsor for Mr. Ferrell's
character, fictitious Nascar driver Ricky Bobby. In the film,
Wonder Bread had prominent placements on Bobby's uniform, helmet
and car hood, as well as crew member uniforms. In real life, Wonder
Bread is not a Nascar partner, nor does it endorse any driver.
Other brands enjoying significant product placement in the racing
spoof included Old Spice, Powerade, Applebee's and Perrier, the
sponsor of Bobby's racing nemesis, Jean Girard. Perrier received
more than two minutes of in-focus exposure worth a total of
$894,000.
The $47 million earned by "Talledega Nights" was not only $15
million more than most analysts predicted, but it was a 53%
increase over Warner Bros.' "The Dukes of Hazzard," the No. 1 film
during the same weekend last year.
